Mattioli Woods return to Leicester

Paragon Interiors Group Plc

From four people in a garage to more than 400 in the heart of Leicester’s professional services district, wealth management firm Mattioli Woods has come a long way since it was formed in 1991.

The wealth management and employee benefits specialist decided to make the switch into Leicester after its former premises on Grove Park, Enderby, just off the M1, became “log jammed” because it had reached its capacity.

Paragon was brought in after the firm made the bold decision to relocate back into the city centre to the site of the former headquarters of Leicester City Council, which was demolished in 2015 because it was considered structurally unsafe.

The other week, we joined Mattioli Woods, city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby and members of the media, to share the vision of the project which has been heralded as ‘an example to other business in the city’.

After gaining key insights from CEO and co-founder Ian Mattioli MBE, Sir Peter Soulsby and Paragon’s head of design Claire Stant, journalists were taken on a tour of the new five-storey, glass-fronted building to discover more about the facilities and features of this exciting new workplace.

As they made their way up through the floors they discovered a home from home in designated quiet working areas, vibrant Meeting Villages, a prayer and meditation room and various ‘Brew Hubs’ designed to encourage spontaneous chats and team integration over a coffee.

They discovered how the open-plan layout has been orientated and designed to make the most of the light that floods into the building from the tree-lined avenue of New Walk and how that natural environment has been echoed through the vibrantly branded central core with a dappled effect in the steelwork façade.

Finally, the guests emerged above the canopy of the avenue, into the epic Sky Lounge and bar which enjoys spectacular views across the city’s rooftops and forms the centrepiece of the project.

With 400 employees already moved across from Enderby, Ian Mattioli MBE, chief executive officer and co-founder of Mattioli Woods forecast that that the number of people working there was set to rise to at least 600 within “two to three years”.

He also acknowledged that its former out-of-town location meant the company had “started to struggle to recruit and retain people” and how the new offices would act as a beacon to attract top talent to the firm and the city.

Noting the impact of their return to the city, Sir Peter Soulsby said Mattioli Woods’ move was part of the “dramatic transformation” that had taken place in the city centre in recent years.

He said the city had suffered from a “collective inferiority complex”, adding: “It generally believed its best days were behind it. It didn’t think it had a present, never mind a future”.

“We are delighted you have come back,” he told Mr Mattioli. “We will use you as an example to show we are a city that offers real quality space for people to move into.

“Mattioli Woods is a success story. It is a deserved success story. And it is a Leicester success story”.

Here at Paragon, we are proud to have played our part in this story and look forward to the next chapter.

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